The District of Kent Community Services wants to hear from you! We are committed to providing you with a variety of programs and services to help enrich your life. Whether you are interested in recreation, learning, making new friends, or living an even healthier lifestyle, we want to help you do that.

To meet your needs, we are conducting a random community-wide telephone survey and several informal meetings in April and May to listen to your suggestions. The information gathered through the survey and the meetings will form the basis for planning services in the future. You will make a difference !

Community Wide Survey – April and May

If you are one of the lucky people randomly selected to participate in the telephone survey, we want to thank you now for doing so. Telephone surveys will be conducted in April. The use of a random survey is very important so that we hear the community-wide perspective not only those with special interests. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kerry Hilts, Director of Community Services, at 604-796-2235

Informal Meetings –May

We are having a number of informal meetings in May – watch for details. The purpose is to gather more detailed information to complement what we learn from the random survey.

If you are currently registered in a program, have in the past, or have never tried our programs, we urge you to come. We are conducting meetings on the followings:

· Preschool/Children

· Indoor and Outdoor Sports

· Youth

· Fitness, Health and Wellness

· Young Adults and Adults

· Arts and Culture

· Seniors

· Summer Day Camps and Clinics

We are also going to be meeting with other community groups and organizations that also provide similar services so that we can work even better together in the future.

Results and Final Report – June to September

A rough draft of the survey results will be available for review by the Steering Committee in late June, with follow-up with community groups throughout the summer. Once the results have been verified a final report will be presented to Council in late September.

Thank you for taking the time to contribute to your community’s future !

What is a Leisure Needs Assessment?

A Leisure Needs Assessment is a scientifically reliable statistical study to gain an understanding of the community-wide recreation needs, attitudes, opinions and behaviors of the constituency served by a recreation service provider.

The results of a Leisure Needs Assessment can provide the District of Kent with timely information about what services are needed in the community; how the citizens of the community view present services; what recommendations are for improvements; and identifying any new needs and trends that the community can address.

Further a Leisure Needs Assessment can be used to justify grants, design new local programs, promote collaboration among local agencies and businesses, and supporting funders in decision making.

Traditionally, Leisure Needs Assessments are conducted ever three to five years to track trends, provide up-to-date data, and provide specific desired information.

It is important to note that a needs assessment not be confused with a master plan. A master plan can be developed after a needs assessment has been conducted, but a needs assessment must be considered to be independent of a master plan and should not be combined with a general master plan. Ideally, a needs assessment must be completed prior to a master plan, and then used as a blueprint for developing any future plans.

What are the goals of a needs assessment (may be part or all of the following)?

explore leisure and recreation interests, preferences and participation rates/trends by activity and by population segment;

identify residents’ needs and expectations with respect to programs, services, and facilities (including parks and open spaces);

identify facility, program, and service gaps;

identify barriers to participation;

identify funding sources and opportunities;

generate ideas to increase participation and for potential opportunities to fill gaps and remove barriers; and

assess consumer opinion as to the role of the District in filling needs, reducing barriers, and creating opportunities, along with priorities for action/investment in these areas.

While the Leisure Needs Assessment research is intended to be general to sport, culture and recreation activities, it would also be used to collect data and information that is required for potential upcoming issue-specific research that may be conducted with respect to the District’s future plans (i.e. aquatic facility and/or fitness centre gymnasium, etc.).

What are the skills needed in conducting a needs assessment?

Given the goals of a needs assessment, several different qualifications are required to do a sound and complete needs assessment:

the ability to select a scientifically sound sample that would be sufficient in size and not be too large, increasing the cost of doing the needs assessment.

the questionnaire has to be developed in a skillful and objective fashion using procedures such as focus group discussions or surveys (phone or mail-in) that require trained and objective moderators.

the expertise in statistical analysis and interpretation to make sense of the data.

the strong understanding of the research in recreation and leisure to be able to make sound and meaningful recommendations that reflect the findings of the scientific process